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Sioux City Explorers

Sioux Falls, SD – The Sioux Falls Canaries split their Sunday doubleheader against the Sioux City Explorers in front of 2,431 at Sioux Falls Stadium, falling in game one, 2-0, and taking game two, 3-0.

RHP Miles Nordgren and LHP Kramer Sneed cruised through the first three frames in under 30 minutes in game one of the doubleheader between the Birds and Explorers, before Sioux City struck for two runs in the top of the fourth.

Tony Campana led off the fourth with an infield single, stole second and moved to third on Joe Bennie’s sacrifice bunt. A walk put runners at the corners before a Nordgren balked to allow Campana to score the first run of the game.

Tyler Ogle’s RBI single extended the Explorers’ lead to 2-0 before Nordgren got out of the inning with a fielder’s choice and a fly out to Dan Motl in centerfield.

In the third, fourth and fifth, the Birds put four runners on base on three singles and a double but left a runner on third in each of the three frames against Sneed.

Nordgren settled down after a rough fourth and didn’t allow a run the rest of the way, finishing with four strikeouts and a walk over 7.0 innings pitched, allowing two runs on four hits.

Sneed settled down as well though, allowing just one base runner over the final two frames to give the Explorers a win in game one of the doubleheader.

Nordgren took the loss for the Birds in game one, while Snead picked up the win for Sioux City.

Both starters, LHP Bo Hellquist and RHP Ryan Flores, cruised through the first three frames in game two, just like in game one, before the Canaries got on the board in the bottom of the fourth.

Brett Marr led off the fourth against Flores with a single and Jabari Henry followed with a walk to put runners on second with a walk. Morrison’s infield single loaded the bases before Chris Jacobs got the Birds on the board with a RBI fielder’s choice.

Burt Reynolds followed with a double, scoring Morrison from second and extending the Birds’ lead to 2-0, before Patrick Fiala’s sacrifice fly scored Jacobs from third and gave the Canaries a 3-0 lead.

Morrison’s two hits, both singles, in games one and two of the doubleheader, extended his hitting streak to 20 games, the longest hitting streak in the American Association this season.

Hellquist worked around two base runners in the fifth, finishing the day allowing two hits over 5.0 innings of work, striking out four and walking one.

Sioux City loaded the bases against RHP James Jones in the sixth, but Jones struck out two batters to end the threat and keep the Birds’ lead at three.

And Jose Ortega nailed down the save with a scoreless seventh to give the Birds a 3-0 victory.

Hellquist picks up the win in game two and Flores takes the loss for the Explorers. The Birds improve to 31-35 on the season with the doubleheader split, while the Explorers fall to 33-32.

The Sioux Falls Canaries travel to Fargo on Monday for a three-game series against the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks. LHP Joe Bircher (4-5, 4.57 ERA) will take the hill against the RedHawks in game one of the three game set, with first pitch on Monday night at 7:02 PM.

Following their three-game set in Fargo, the Birds return home for a seven-game homestand, starting with four games against the Texas AirHogs, August 3-6.

Be sure to save the date as well for the Birds’ three-game home stand against the Salina Stockade August 18-20, as Sunday’s matchup has been moved from a 12:05 PM to a 4:05 PM start. For information on single-game tickets, contact the Canaries Ticket Office at (605) 336-6060 or visit sfcanaries.com for more information.